Find out how popular the last name Campbell is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Campbell.

Campbell, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Campbell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Campbell in America

Campbell is the 82317th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Campbell surname appeared 229 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Campbell.

We can also compare 2010 data for Campbell to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Campbell

The surname CAMBEL originated in Scotland in the 12th century. It is thought to be derived from the Gaelic words "cam" meaning crooked and "beul" meaning mouth or entrance, referring to a crooked stream or river mouth.

The name CAMBEL was first found in lands near the village of Cambuslang in Lanarkshire. Early records show variations of the spelling such as Cambel, Cambell, and Campbell. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Gillespic Cambel, who witnessed a charter by Walter Fitzalan, the Steward of Scotland, around 1180.

In the 13th century, the CAMBEL family became prominent landowners in Argyllshire. Sir Nigel Cambel, born around 1280, was one of the most powerful nobles in the region and is mentioned in several historical documents of the time. His son, Sir John Cambel, fought alongside Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

The CAMBEL name appears in the famous Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish nobles who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. One of the entries is for Duncan Cambell, a landowner in Perthshire.

During the 15th century, the spelling of the name became more standardized as Campbell. One notable figure from this era was Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy, who lived from around 1432 to 1513. He was a powerful clan chief and played a significant role in the politics of the time.

Another famous bearer of the CAMBEL surname was Archibald Campbell, the 9th Earl of Argyll, born in 1629. He was a prominent Scottish Protestant and military leader who fought against the Catholic King James VII of Scotland. He was executed for treason in 1685.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Campbell

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Campbell.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Campbell was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Campbell has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Campbell was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Campbell, please contact us.

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